RD Reynolds Salutes The Original Doink, Matt Osborne

I’ve posted on my Facebook about it, but I thought I should hop on here and mention how saddened everyone at WrestleCrap.com is about the passing of Matt Osborne. It seems ironic that many times folks who don’t really understand what the site is all about think that we must have inducted the wrestling clown, but that was never the case.

The original Doink, the HEEL Doink, was one of the greatest wrestling characters ever.

And that wouldn’t have been the case without Osborne behind the grease paint.

Look, I know that Osborne was more than just Doink. I chronicled the saga of Big Josh, the lumberjack who wasn’t allowed to carry an ax, in the early days of the site. And I know that he was at the first WrestleMania. But his greatest fame was as Doink. And I cannot possibly overstate how fantastic he was in that role.

Remember when he hit Crush with a phony arm? Vince has never been more outraged. Heck, he thought Doink pulled his arm out of its socket!

One of my favorite matches of all time was Jerry Lawler versus Bret Hart at SummerSlam 93. Everything about it was perfect: Bret was a fiery good guy, Jerry Lawler a completely scummy heel…you’d think adding anything would have watered it down. Instead, Doink shows up, and it gets even better.

So thank you, Mr. Osborne. My thoughts and prayers are with your friends and family.

Yeah, you know...the WrestleCrap guy. Been here since before day 1, I have. You can hang out with me on Facebook. (I'm on there quite a bit) or follow my exploits on Twitter (I'm on there not quite so often).
Thanks, and Keep on Crappin'!

Doink, heel Doink, was a MAJOR high point in a very boring 1993 talent pool. Here’s a character that should’ve been terrible, but his promo work was fantastic, he had solid matches with almost everyone he worked with, and just came across as a star that never should’ve been. Easily one of the most unappreciated gimmicks that got lost in the history of “Doink” thanks to the babyface version.

Heel Doink was one of the best heels in the business during his run, period. Borne’s wrestling ability seemed to be overshadowed by the character, though. He was just as good in the ring as Hart was. But, man, he played that character to perfection. It’s a shame that they made him such a joke towards the end of his WWE run (no fault of his, but obviously Vince and the office). He was also my preferred charcter in the Wrestlemania Arcade Game.

I also dug the heel Doink’s entrance music. Also, Doink was featured on WWF Raw on the old SNES. I believe that was the only game he made it onto. There are a few Doink matches on the DVD set “Raw: The Beginning Season 1 & 2″. Good stuff! He usually got props from the announcers that he was quite the accomplished wrestler and not to let the face paint fool you. Agreed!

Yeah, the heel Doink was one hell of a unique character, no two ways about it. Shame they had to turn him face though. That brings me to another point: WWE’s insistence on turning heels that are over with the fans face. The current examples being: Miz, Sheamus, and Del Rio. At least it appears that WWE came to their senses and decided to have Del Rio turn heel.

I’ll say the original heel Doink was one of a kind. I also liked Borne as Big Josh in WCW. My dad and I were watching Wrestling Challenge one weekend and it was that now famous Doink vs. Big Boss Man match where Doink dominated a good portion of it with some really solid wrestling. Gorilla Monsoon who normally didn’t give the heels any credit seemed to respect Borne’s ability and Bobby Heenan well, let’s just say The Brain was loving every second of it. My dad I think just about died laughing watching that match and even called up his friend and said “Hey Terry turn this on!!” So for Father’s day we got him an official WWF Doink the Clown action figure (which is still in it’s original packaging!) and it should be noted it was the heel Doink since the back of the package said and I paraphrase “His goal in life is to see every child cry”. That’s the mark of a real standout character. RIP Matt

I often wonder what their original direction was for the heel Doink. They kept bringing up that his wrestling style “reminded” people of someone, but no one could say who. Bobby Heenan, especially, would say this during Doink matches. Were they eventually going to go with someone eventually revealing who Doink was and taking a “Borne Again” angle with it, long before ECW thought of it?

No matter, giving the facepaint to someone else and turning him face ruined the character. R.I.P. Matt Osborne, who ALSO gave us the best reaction to an atomic drop in Wrestlemania history!

Matt Osborne is like many performers in this business, damn talented in every aspect of the business but for some reason was forgotten/ignored by so many people. People like the REAL Doink are like diamonds in the rough, it takes a try observer to truly know how much value it has. He will be missed by all who undoubtedly love the business.